Video: Learning Spanish in Spain

So what is the answer?

Yes, it is worth it for many reasons including:

1. It forces you to speak and hear the language 24/7
2. Learning the grammar and vocabulary is only a small part of learning to communicate in another language.  You want to understand the culture, hear the pronunciation and see how it is used in daily life.
3. Often, removing yourself from the day-to-day grind of a typical day relaxes you and your brain is better able to soak in the aspects of a new language.
4. You might be surprised to learn just how inexpensive language immersion programs are compared to classes at home.  And if you are looking to get academic credit, then you really save.  Your college doesn't want to give you credit for your studies? Then spend an extra $100 and take a CLEP exam.

Discover AmeriSpan's many Spanish immersion options

Why do we love Think Spanish and Think French?
With a subscription to Think Spanish or Think French, you receive 12 months of continuous learning with new content every month:

• A complete learning package of monthly articles, audio, lessons and more!
• A proven method to increase Spanish or French fluency naturally and effectively, at home and at your own pace!

• New and engaging articles every month to increase fluency and grammar.
• For students of all ages and levels, Spanish/French for Travelers, Business or Workplace Spanish/French, and of course Spanish/French Teachers … there is truly something for everyone!
• Authentic audio files accompany each article, read aloud by native Spanish speakers designed to improve listening and pronunciation. Listen to the audio online or save to your iPod or CD player.
• Monthly “Repeat After Me” exercises with audio, grammar lessons from an award-winning teacher, vocabulary flashcards, and listening and reading comprehension quizzes.

If you are interested, act now as this special is only valid until January 1st! Go to Think Spanish or Think French. 

Stocking Stuffer Alert! More great gifts for language travelers:

International Student Identity Cards (ISIC)

Worldwide Cell Phones & SIM Cards: Mobal 

Europe Cell Phones & SIM Cards: Eurobuzz

Best Study Abroad Luggage

Lonely Planet Guidebooks

AmeriSpan Gift Certificates

Our top gift for those that want to learn Spanish without traveling abroad, to prepare for studying Spanish abroad, or to continue learning and practicing Spanish after studying abroad is Bilingual America. Bilingual America’s Spanish Power course is a results-driven Spanish course for busy professional adults. Many AmeriSpan participants have gone on to use Bilingual America’s Spanish Power course with wonderful results.

Also highly recommended is Bilingual America’s live Spanish tutoring. Professional Spanish tutoring is available over the phone through this program. Tutoring over the phone is an excellent way to learn and practice Spanish, especially when you cannot be abroad in an immersion experience. Click for more information on Bilingual America.

If you happen to be a first responder or critical social need professional, you can receive the Spanish Power course for free, through the Claro Initiative. This applies to those in medical fields, mental health, schoolteachers, ministers, and many more. Click to find out more about the Claro Initiative.

Stocking Stuffer Alert! More great gifts for language travelers:

International Student Identity Cards (ISIC)

Worldwide Cell Phones & SIM Cards: Mobal 

Europe Cell Phones & SIM Cards: Eurobuzz

Best Study Abroad Luggage

Lonely Planet Guidebooks

AmeriSpan Gift Certificates

The first article featured Dawn Soriano, 40, a high school Spanish teacher from St. Louis, Mo. who is studying with AmeriSpan in Europe.

This article, "Vacationing in a native tongue", interviews Dajana Guja, a repeat AmeriSpan language traveler, as well as AmeriSpan's co-founder and other industry experts.

The article does a great job laying out some of the many reasons why people of all ages are increasingly going abroad to learn languages. In addition, the author underscored a variety of different learning vacations including language immersion programs, summer camps for teenagers, French law classes, and professional internships.

Do you need to learn Spanish or expand your Spanish language skills?

AmeriSpan Study Abroad has partnered once again with Bilingual America to offer a very special, high quality Spanish program for free to qualified participants. If you are in the medical, law enforcement, school teaching, social work or ministerial fields you can get Bilingual America's Basic to Expert Level Spanish Power course at no charge through The Claro Initiative. The Claro Initiative is a community service initiative to provide Spanish training to critical social service professionals at no charge. Spanish Power is considered the most comprehensive and results-driven Spanish training program in the country by many people and we encourage you to take advantage of this amazing opportunity. By the way, if you don't qualify but know someone who does, send them the link below so they can benefit.

Click or share this link to read more about this offer and request admittance to the free Spanish Power course here: https://bilingualamerica.infusionsoft.com/go/claro/immer$$ab/

What if you don't qualify?   
If you do not qualify for this special offer because you are not in one of the professional fields listed above, but are looking for a high-quality Spanish training program, we highly recommend you try this free trial package from the Claro Initiative through Bilingual America. A unique aspect of Bilingual America's programs is that they also make one-on-one tutoring available on an optional basis. They are a very respected, trusted institute that has been around since 1992. Other students recommended from AmeriSpan Study Abroad have been very happy with the results they have achieved with them. If you do not qualify for free courseware via The Claro Initiative you can get a really nice free trial package here.

Go to or share this link for a free trial package:  https://bilingualamerica.infusionsoft.com/go/SPGPS/immer$$ab/

If you have wanted to visit the Alhambra in Granada, see colorful and intricate architecture created by the world famous Gaudi in Barcelona, kick-back on the beaches of Costa del Sol or experience Spain's night life, now is the time to make your plans. It's simple, register for your program by May 15th and use the discount code "Spain Fever" when registering.

See Spain Spanish Schools

See Spain College Study Abroad

A really cool aspect of the PlaySay program is what is offered: 

• Chinese offers preparation for the HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi) levels 1-4, as well as the Integrated Chinese textbooks, and the New Practical Chinese Reader series. While studying Chinese recently, my class used the Integrated Chinese textbooks and I painstakingly made hundreds of flashcards by hand… I wish I had known about PlaySay!
• For Japanese, you can get vocabulary for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test
  (JLPT), grammar dictionaries, common phrase books, and several others such as
  Japanese for Busy People.
• For Spanish learners, flashcards are available for learning and
  practicing verbs, as well as vocabulary and textbooks too.

Since the flashcards are available through instant download, you
can get started right away. We found PlaySay to be an easy to use, highly
effective way to practice, learn, and retain relevant vocabulary for Japanese,
Chinese, and Spanish.

Some
travel to Costa Rica with intention, with plans and reservations and a return
flight already booked. Unfortunately my age, and obligation to high school does
not allow for infinite vacation and so I am one of those people who came and
fulfilled my intention, with only the luxury of flexibility and no schedules on
the weekends.

Walking
back from a nightclub with friends in Puerto Viejo I met Nate. A tall, skinny,
white Australian guy, unshaven with a head full of blonde dreadlocks, wobbles
up next to us on a rickety bicycle that was much too small for his height. I
recognized him from our hostel and he introduced himself and kept up
conversation while trying to ride his bike at our walking pace-which was very
entertaining to watch. Our conversation followed the casual flow of small talk,
which is common when meeting other English-speaking foreigners in a foreign
country. Our newly acquainted chat was short but different and it made me smile
and got me thinking about life.

Me: “So
how long are you in Costa Rica for?”

Nate:
(thick Australian accent) “Well now mate, I don’t quite know. You see I got a
place to live and a job.”

“Oh
really? That’s sweet. What’s your job?”

“The Lady
at that restaurant down the street asked if I wanted a job. So now I’m working
at that café. Yeah its totally cool.”

“Nice man,
how long have you been here in Puerto Viejo?”

“Oh…three
days.”

That’s
something I will really miss about Costa Rica. The freedom, the flexibility,
the ‘Tranquilo’ mentality of no stress and no hurry. Back home everyone is
always stressing and rushing around. Seeing Nate wobbling on his new ride, and
just chillen in Costa Rica with a home and job for however long he wants; that
is the pura vida.

The next
day as my friends and I were walking to the bus stop we saw Nate again.
Wobbling on his bike, riding at the walking pace of a local Tico, practicing
his Spanish and making new friends. He waved at us and shouted, “Good day
Mate!” and we smiled and waved back.

I realized it’s not only tourists who live with
tranquility and peace of mind in Costa Rica. The Ticos seem to include the
business of work and living into a tranquil sort of system with many ‘Pausuas’
(breaks) during the workday and with weekends extending into Monday.  In fact, most businesses are closed on
Mondays! Ahhh!!! This IS the life! 

Click for more information on AmeriSpan’s Independent Teen program in Coronado, Costa Rica.

Sadly this is my last blog about Peru…

So we left the somewhat modern civilization that I had come to
know for the past 5 weeks and ventured into the rainforest/jungle/selva/amazon
(whatever you want to call it) there were all sorts of animals. We took a
30 min plane ride into Puerto Maldonado and were met by a guide who took us on
a 1 hr bus ride to the Tambopata River. We were given all natural,
rainforest snacks of fresh banana trips, a local cocona juice, tiny (finger)
bananas and the most famous, brazil nuts. We boarded a small boat that luckily
had a good motor and were on the river for about 3 hours with some occasional
stops for animal sightings. We were given another local delicacy for lunch: a
fried rice dish in a banana leaf that we disposed of in the water when we were
done. We very much felt like jungle people! 

Once the boat dropped us
off at the lodge we hiked up some makeshift wooden stairs that they have to
rebuild every year because the river rises at least 10 feet in the rainy season,
and walked about 20 minutes to the lodge. Our first view of the lodge was
surprising because it seemed very nice. We were greeted by cool towels and cool
pineapple juice with our introductions for the lodge. We ventured down the
pathway to our rooms that only had 3 walls (aka one entire side was completely
open to the world outside. There were no lights in the lodge only candles
and lamps (lit for only 4 hours a day) and no hot water but there was running
water and mosquito nets for the bed so I was pleased. 

Since we arrived a little early we were able to hike into the
jungle and up the 30m tower in hopes of seeing some birds as the sun set. We
didn’t see too many birds but did hear plenty of insects as the sun went down.
However it was an absolutely incredibly view of the forest since we were level
with some of the taller trees and could see for a few miles versus a few feet
from within the depths of the forest. Adjusting to the little light available
and finding critters of all sorts (David loved watching the frogs eat insects)
was a little tough but nonetheless a learning experience.  We all
double-checked our mosquito nets to make sure they were intact and tried to get
a few hours of sleep.

We were supposed to leave at 5:45 the next day to go to the lake
at sunrise but it was raining so our guide said nobody would be out there. Once
it stopped raining we made our way out to the lake and were able to see some
really neat, noisy birds in the trees and a bunch of fish surrounding our boat.
Later that day we went on a walk with a shaman that resides and works by the
lodge and he showed us many of the medicinal plants that he uses including the
hallucinogen that is very popular with shamans (ayahuasca). We took a boat ride
across the river to a local farm where we walked around and got to try many of
the different things that grew there including a stick of raw sugar cane!

The next day we did actually get up at 4am and go a little
upriver and through a path that was at times slightly harrowing to reach the
most amazing spot of the adventures there, the bird clay lick. For a short time
each day the birds (parrots, macaws…) go to this place and eat the clay
because it neutralizes the bad things they may eat. We saw some of the most
gorgeous sights of hundreds of birds frolicking in the trees near us. We
just sat mesmerized for quite some time. Later that day we went to the mammal
clay lick but we were told it was always less likely to see things. There was a
monkey climbing around in the tree near us so we really made our own path in
the woods trying to see him but he decided to take a nap and we never got a
great view of him. Our last night concluded once again with superb food (all
the food was absolutely delicious and like almost all the other food I had in
Peru very natural and mostly local). I somehow managed only to get 4
bites which were well worth the time spent in the rainforest!

We journeyed back to San Diego for about 30 hours and I left with
one of the best experiences of my life.  Now that my Spanish is a little
better I definitely want to return to South America.  If you want to hear
any more about the adventures let me know but I don’t want to bore the rest of
you with any more details. Hope everyone is doing well and I look forward to talking
to you all now that I’m back (well after the 12th I’ll actually be free from my
MCAT lockdown mode).

Here is the link to my Picasso albums online.  I don’t have
time to put up captions until after the 12th so check back after then if you
want to see what the pictures are actually of, sorry!
Album 1   Album 2

con amor,
Jamie

Click for information on AmeriSpan’s language programs in Cusco.

Click for information on AmeriSpan’s SALUD program in Cusco.